How to get Favorite Points on your Caches

Whether or not your cache is popular comes down to 3 things:

• Location
• Challenge
• Container

The best caches have a good element in each of the above categories, though excelling in one area can be enough to earn you those tricky favorites.

Location

When choosing the place to hide your cache, one of the first things you need to thing about is, where? Not only do you have to comply with Groundspeak's hiding guidelines, with your cache being 0.10 miles (528 ft or 161 m) away from the nearest cache, but you also want to make sure that the area you bring the finder to is of some significance.

Many people like geocaching because it takes them to spectacular places that they would never have otherwise seen. It's always a good idea to place your cache in a unique and interesting spot for this reason.

• Maybe it leads you to a phenomenal view, looking over a secret lake?
• Maybe the place has a special family memory tied to it, that you could share in the cache description?
• Maybe even, there is some historical value to the place, or it was once home to a celebrity?

Whatever the place you choose, ensure that the finder will get something out of the location alone, to feel the trip worthwhile.

Apollos pool with the million dollar view (GC13VNK)

Challenge

• Whether your cache is puzzle, multi or traditional, the top caches have some element of a challenge involved in them. Challenges can be physical, mental or involve stealth, 5/5 caches often involve an aspect of all 3!

Physical Challenges

A physical challenge can involve anything from scuba diving or climbing trees, to long arduous hikes across mountains to entering dark caves. The more daring the cache, the more rewarding the cachers will find it. However, make sure you notify people on your cache description of the adventure it will lead them on to ensure that they prepare themselves with the appropriate equipment.

Mental Challenges

Mental challenges can come in many forms. They're often associated with the devilish puzzle caches where you can be required to do anything from solving a rubiks cube to get the coordinates, to performing complex maths equations. See our page on puzzle cache ideas for more inspiration. However, if your hiding a traditional cache, they can still provide a huge mental challenge, especially with micro or nano containers, as forces people to use the mindset of, 'if I was hiding the cache, where would I put it?'. The more mentally challenging you make your cache, the more satisfied people will be when they eventually solve it.

Stealth Challenges

Some of the hardest caches to retrieve will be ones placed in urban areas with high muggle densities! Many cachers like more urban caches as they enjoy the feeling of being separated, in a secret world, to the many onlookers. However, you do need to take responsibility as the cache owner, that the cachers aren't going to be pulled over for suspicious behavior.

Container

Having a creative container is key for a successful cache. Whether it's a bison tube in a pine cone, a cache in a shoe, or in a piece of fake gum, cachers love unique containers that they weren't expecting. Check out our page on Creative Cache Containers for some more inspiration.